September 14, 2017
What are geese?
- Large, terrestrial birds
- Herbivorous, often grazers
- Many species live in families
- Undertake impressive migrations
Animal Migration
- Biannual population movement
- Different population classes may migrate differently
- May be instinctive or learned.
Geese in Europe: Current Trends

- Mostly migratory
- Large increases since 1960s1

1 Fox & Madsen 2017
Geese in Europe: Challenges
- Conflict with agriculture2
- Range expansion3
- Change in migration patterns4
- Much data, less analysis
What is the role of families in spatio-temporal population patterns of geese wintering in the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern Germany?
Which goose?

Death by Data

What data?
- Counts of observed flocks (Russia & Holland)
- Observations of neck-banded geese
- Observations of geese flying overhead
- GPS tracking of 19 individuals from Russia
- GPS tracking of 13 families (64 birds) in Holland
- Weather data from KNMI and DWD